I reviewed Personal Trainer at this very venue as part of the ‘Mutations Festival’ back in November last year. They were very much full on then so I’m looking forward to their performance tonight, which has been organised by promoters ‘Love Thy Neighbour’. Likewise I reviewed Welly here when they supported Mush in October, so tonight’s gig at The Hope & Ruin is a bit like meeting up with a couple of old friends!
Welly is apparently actually the name (or nickname) of the singer, and not just the name of the band. The band are minus at least one member tonight, and Welly (the singer) tells us that they’ve been on a diet, and that this is the slimmed down version of the band. It’s good to be kept informed.
They’re still wearing what I guess is their now traditional gym kit. Bassist Jacob is as manic as ever, but this time doesn’t jump down into the audience as he did last time. To be honest, there isn’t room for him to do so as The Hope & Ruin is sold out. However, he does manage to break the strap for his bass during the first song ‘Michelangelo’, and has to borrow one from Personal Trainer.
Tonight their music has a Jam/Paul Weller feel that I hadn’t noticed before. I clearly hadn’t been paying sufficient attention when they played here last! Sorry guys…..
They still have no drummer, but they have some great sounding beats, which Welly appears to control with a foot pedal. Welly also plays lead guitar, a duty which he shares with guitarist Matt. Fin, who I don’t remember from before, is on a range of egg shakers together with backing vocals. When Jacob’s bass strap breaks he holds the bass in place until Personal Trainer comes to the rescue with a replacement strap. Together Jacob and Fin look like the world’s first two-headed bass player. Later they share a mic for backing vocals, just like the Beatles did.
The driving and percussive ‘Home For The Weekend’ is something of a stand-out track. It is a single, and deservedly so. ‘Shopping’ is also a banger, and thus far unreleased. They do have a live album entitled ‘Welly: Live In A Village Hall’ which I shall be doing my damnedest to obtain a copy of. The set ends with recordings from an automated supermarket checkout, infuriating things that they are. Overall we’ve been treated to some excellent tunes in a performance that is memorable for all of the right reasons. And Personal Trainer are still to come!!!
You can next catch Welly performing live in Brighton on Wednesday 26th April, where they will be playing a headline gig at the Green Door Store. This will be a Goo Records showcase event. Goo Records was founded with the aim of giving new and emerging artists an opportunity to release physical editions of their music without being tied to onerous contracts. In an age where every song is a single, Goo aims to find proper single-worthy tracks and make them available on 7″ vinyl for fans and collectors.
Support at this forthcoming concert will come from Canned Pineapple as well as Owners Club. You can purchase your tickets HERE and HERE.
Welly:
Welly – vocals/guitar/programming
Fin – egg shaker/backing vocals
Jacob – bass/backing vocals
Matt – guitar
Welly setlist:
‘Michelangelo’ (from 2023 ‘Welly: Live In A Village Hall’ album)
‘Take 5’ (from 2023 ‘Welly: Live In A Village Hall’ album)
‘Deere John’ (from 2023 ‘Welly: Live In A Village Hall’ album)
‘Me And Your Mates’ (from 2023 ‘Home For The Weekend / Me And Your Mates’ single)
‘Home For The Weekend’ (from 2023 ‘Home For The Weekend / Me And Your Mates’ single)
‘Shopping’ (unreleased)
‘Flowers’ (2021 single)
Guitarist Franti Maresova hovers around the front of the stage for quite a while before the rest of Personal Trainer appear. She’s there for so long in fact that I’m tempted to ask her whether she’s going to be playing the show solo. However, the rest of the band eventually appear and they take the stage to the strains of Astrid Gilberto.
It’s clear from the off that they retain the same degree of anarchy as they had the first time I saw them, and it was partially this which made their performance then so memorable. Keyboard player Abel Tuinstra loses his shirt during the first song ‘The Lazer’. He puts it back on for the second song ‘Politics’. Maybe it isn’t quite as warm onstage as he thought! Abel is something of a multi-instrumentalist. As well as keys he also plays trumpet and is in charge of samples.
Percussionist Kilian Kayser’s tom-toms give the band’s loose-limbed funky rock a ‘Sympathy For The Devil’-cum-Primal Scream flavour. However, not every song’s like that. New song ‘1,000,000’ (One Million) is heralded by a wonderfully sinewy bass line from Ruben van Weegberg. Vocalist Willem Smit tells us that they’re “going to play a very boring song – it’s about ten minutes long”. I think this is ‘The Feeling’. Initially it has a bit of a Doors feel, before speeding up. Then it becomes rather Who-like. After that it quietens down, changes time signature, and adds trumpet. This is arguably prog!!! I definitely wish that more bands had songs this boring!
Honourable mention must be made of guitarists Franti Maresova and Leon Harms, who both play brilliantly throughout. A particular highlight is ‘Rug Busters’, which features wonderful dual harmonised lead guitars. I get the impression that Franti is less anarchic than the rest; the sensible member of the band if you will. I could of course be wrong.
Talking of anarchy, you often get the impression that the band is just moments away from tipping over into some form of musical anarchy. However, this is merely an impression. Their superb musicianship would always prevent that from happening. They do seem to specialise in the unusual. For example, I don’t believe that I’ve ever seen anyone play a tambourine with a drumstick. Likewise, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody play a cymbal with a tambourine for that matter.
They rock out very efficiently too. In one case bassist Ruben van Weegberg has the dirtiest bass sound this side of John Entwistle’s 1970s live sound. The final song of the set is ‘Milk’ from last year’s ‘Big Love Blanket’ album. Beforehand vocalist Willem asks “are there any mummy’s in the house?” Remarkably only two ladies own up! Really?
I’m unsure whether Personal Trainer play encores, but luckily for us, back they come, to play an unreleased song ‘Baby Olifanten’ (Baby Elephant). Mid-song vocalist Willem detunes one of guitarist Leon’s strings. He doesn’t appear to notice. Willem then retreats to the back of the stage (which for such an undeniably in-yer-face frontman is quite unusual) to play percussion. Abel Tuinstra takes centre stage with a portable keyboard. Bassist Ruben tries to create feedback, but doesn’t quite manage it. Abel is back at centre stage, this time with his trumpet. Percussionist Kilian is on keyboards. The song’s finale could almost come from Miles Davis’ ‘Bitches Brew’. This is a tour de force, and then some.
Personal Trainer are an utterly brilliant live band with some superb material. I believe ultimately they have to be experienced live. Luckily, there are upcoming opportunities to do just that later in the year, as detailed below.
Personal Trainer will be returning to the UK in early November with a trio of concerts in Lewes, London and Manchester. The Lewes concert will take place at The Con Club on Thursday 2nd November. Purchase your tickets HERE and HERE.
Personal Trainer:
Willem Smit – vocals
Abel Tuinstra – keys, samples, trombone
Kilian Kayser – percussion
Ruben van Weegberg – bass
Kick Kluiving – drums
Franti Maresova – guitar
Leon Harms – guitar
Personal Trainer setlist:
‘The Lazer’ (from 2022 ‘Big Love Blanket’ album)
‘Politics’ (from 2021 ‘Gazebo’ EP)
‘Former Puppy’ (from 2022 ‘Big Love Blanket’ album)
‘1,000,000’ (One Million) (unreleased)
‘The Feeling’ (unreleased)
‘Fiddlefunk’ (from 2021 ‘Gazebo’ EP)
‘Rug Busters’ (from 2022 ‘Big Love Blanket’ album)
‘Key Of Ego’ (from 2022 ‘Big Love Blanket’ album)
‘You Better Start Scrubbing’ (from 2021 ‘Body Warmer’ EP)
‘Milk’ (from 2022 ‘Big Love Blanket’ album)
(encore)
‘Baby Olifanten’ (Baby Elephants) (unreleased)
Find out more about Personal Trainer HERE.
